A nice day

In an attempt to be more productive in the mornings, our plan was to take the kids to the Nature Center, hike a trail, have lunch and then go kite flying. We have a new rolling cooler for packing drinks and food, a lesson we learned from the last kite jaunt. We didn't leave as early as we aimed for, but still got out of the house before 10:30a. The Nature Center was pleasantly sparse of visitors so the kids had a good time romping around. I cringed when I saw Nikko running around with a rubber dragonfly because the last time we were there he got attached to something like that and leaving the facility was painful. But to my surprise, when it was time to go, he willingly dumped it into the plastic figures bin (as I announced Good Bye to all the things the kids had in their hands). I also had to surrender my Costco card and little wallet in order to make the exchange successful. We walked part way up a trail but turned around because Nikko was starting to ask for fruit snacks, which meant he was going to have a tantrum if I didn't pony up anything good. The weather was warm, it was bright and sunny, and the kids were getting hot. Time to eat! We went to the River Trails park district to eat under a shady shelter, as well as have access to their vast offering of playground equipment. Next time we try to have a picnic lunch outside, we have to bring paper plates. Note to self. 3/4 of the park had wood chips and 1/4 had sand. That was exactly where all the kids wanted to be, so they played and got grimy but were pretty happy. Audrey was so crabby earlier in the day but was busily pouring sand into a bucket with a shovel. We came home and gave the kids baths before putting them down for a nap, and it was only 2pm. Ronin and Audrey napped at the same time, for the first time, and it was over 2 hours. Nikko had me put on Monsters, Inc. and he fell asleep on the couch for an hour. I was dozing on the floor in front of the DVR when my phone woke me up, after only 30 minutes. Because the kids had such long naps, their bedtimes were delayed slightly. The last time we delayed a bedtime on purpose, we had given the kids baths earlier in the day. So when I took Nikko to brush his teeth, he was expecting to get into the tub. I steered him away from the tub and he had a big fit because I had broken the routine. This time around, I avoided the bathroom entirely and changed diapers in the living room, unfortunately giving up teeth brushing. When we herded the boys into Nikko's room for stories, he got a little upset because I don't think he wanted to go to bed, plus we didn't brush teeth and take a bath. But I pushed onward and we sat for stories, prayed and tucked in. Tomorrow is supposed to be hotter than today, which might render a trip outdoors into the kiddie pool.